U-shaped lace and method of lacing a shoe or garment therewith

ABSTRACT

Single eyelet laces containing an elongated flexible body with an openable stop at least at one end and a stop that may or not be openable at the other. The openable stop opens to a size or shape that will not pass through an eyelet of a shoe on which the lace is used and closes to a shape that will. In a preferred embodiment, the single eyelet laces are used to display badges or are used with laces that are formable into a bow to give an appearance of traditional lacing in a shoe or display. In another embodiment, each of the single eyelet laces may be of a different color.

This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional application 61/063,165, filed 31 Jan. 2008, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The invention relates to a lace, which as used herein comprehends any elongated flexible member regardless of flat, round, or other cross section, and, more particularly, a U-shaped lace and a method of lacing a shoe or garment therewith.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

It is known to thread a lace through eyelets with or without grommets thereabout in opposite sides of a shoe or garment to open and close a portion of the shoe or garment. Often, there are multiple eyelets on each side of the shoe or garment and the lace is cris crossed between them from one, e.g., toe end of the eyelets in a method called lacing, but using the lace between a single pair of eyelets on opposite sides of a shoe or garment is considered lacing as used herein.

Such lacing is limited in appearance by that of the lace and limited in utility by matching the lengths of the laces to the number of eyelets of the shoe or garment and, in cris crossing, keeping the ends of the lace even, for example. Therefore, Tricker U.S. Pat. No. 7,036,194 of May 2, 2006, Head GB Patent 657,958 of Oct. 3, 1951, and Gentry U.S. Pat. No. 4,733,439 of Mar. 29, 1988, for example, have proposed laces for extending between a single pair of eyelets on opposite sides of a shoe to vary the appearance and improve the utility of laces. These laces have not found wide acceptance, perhaps because their appearance is unusual and their structures difficult to use.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

To avoid such limitations, the invention has a plurality of embodiments of a U-shaped lace, the U-shape referring to their shapes in use, each embodiment being an elongated flexible member the flexibility of which permits it to be flat, U-shaped, L-shaped or other bent, coiled or twisted shapes. In addition, U-shaped as used herein is generic for inversion (upside-down U-shape) or other orientations in use or C-shapes, where the inward hook ends may have fastening utility as may outward serifs on the ends of the U-shape that are also within the genus of the U-shape as used herein.

One of the embodiments of the U-shaped lace has an elongated malleable core member with a sleeve thereabout and therealong. The sleeve gives the U-shaped lace its appearance while the core member may have a smaller cross section than the inside of the sleeve or a cross section large enough to give the sleeve and, thus, the U-shaped lace its cross section. For example, a round cross section core member could support the sleeve in a round cross section for a cord appearing lace, or a flat core member, for example like a twist tie (strips of paper-like material on opposite sides of a wire), could support the sleeve in a flat cross section. The core member is preferably non-resilient, but could be resilient, for example, if the shoe or garment provides sufficient resistance to such resilience

Another of the embodiments has an elongated flexible elastic body, like a known shoe lace, for example, with an openable stop at least at one end and a stop that may or may not be openable at the other end. The openable stop opens to a size and/or shape that will not pass through an eyelet of the shoe or garment on which the lace is used and closes to a size the will.

In a preferred embodiment, the U-shaped lace described herein is used in combination with a badge, preferably of metal, that is added to one or more of the U-shaped laces prior to completion of lacing them. The badge or badges may display one or more alphanumeric characters selected, for example, from the entire alphabet (A-Z), a number (e.g., 0-9) or other characters that will allow a user to display his or her name, nickname, school name, etc. on the U-shaped laces of a shoe. It may be appreciated that this embodiment of the invention provides a method by which a user can use the U-shoe laces to customize his or her shoes.

In another preferred embodiment, there is provided a display comprising:

(a) an article having a shape of only an upper portion of a shoe, the article comprising a plurality of pairs of opposing eyelets, including a first pair of opposing eyelets and a second pair of opposing eyelets disposed beneath the first pair of opposing eyelets; and

(b) a plurality of laces that are threaded through respective eyelets of the first and second pairs of opposing eyelets and fixed at insides of the eyelets such that each of the laces forms a U-shape.

In a further preferred embodiment there is provided a kit comprising:

(a) an article comprising a plurality of pairs of opposing eyelets, including a first pair of opposing eyelets near a top of the article and a second pair of opposing eyelets disposed beneath the first pair of opposing eyelets;

(b) a first lace that is threadable through respective eyelets of the second pair of opposing eyelets and fixable at insides of the eyelets to form a U-shape, said lace comprising (i) an enlongated malleable core member and (ii) a sleeve about and along the core member; and

(c) a second lace that is threadable through respective eyelets of the first pair of opposing eyelets and formable into the shape of a bow.

In yet another preferred embodiment there is provided a kit comprising:

(a) an article comprising a plurality of pairs of opposing eyelets, including a first pair of opposing eyelets near a top of the article and a second pair of opposing eyelets disposed beneath the first pair of opposing eyelets;

(b) a first lace that is threadable through respective eyelets of the second pair of opposing eyelets and fixable at insides of the eyelets to form a U-shape, said lace comprising (i) an elastic body; and (ii) one of a stop or openable stop on one end of the body; and (iii) an openable stop on an opposite end of the body; and

(c) a second lace that is threadable through respective eyelets of the first pair of opposing eyelets and formable into the shape of a bow.

These embodiments and the method of their use will be better understood from consideration of the accompanying Figures that illustrate but do not limit the invention in which:

FIG. 1 is an end/side perspective view a cut-away portion of the one embodiment with a round cross section core member;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a cut-away portion of the one embodiment with a flat cross section core member;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of an end portion of the other embodiment having a stop;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of an end portion of the other embodiment having an openable stop in a closed condition;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of an end portion of the other embodiment having an openable stop in an opened condition;

FIG. 6 shows the metal badge of the invention in three embodiments: unfinished, nickel and chrome;

FIG. 7 shows a plurality of the badges of the invention with U-lace threaded therethrough to provide a customizable display or message;

FIGS. 8A-H show the display of the invention in each of a plurality of different views, including perspective, front, top and side views;

FIG. 9 shows a display of the invention in a first embodiment; and

FIG. 10 shows a display of the invention in a second embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, a round cross section malleable core member 10 supports a round cross section of a sleeve 12 that gives a cord-like outward appearance to the U-shaped lace. The method of using this U-shaped lace inserts opposite ends through respective eyelets of a shoe or garment outside to inside and bends the ends projecting from the insides of the eyelets, e.g. 90°, to inhibit their removal.

As shown in FIG. 2, a flat cross section of a twist-tie-like core member 10A supports a flat cross section of a sleeve 12A that can shape the U-shaped lace in a familiar flat or ribbon shape, for example. Such a core member has a malleable wire 10C between paper-like flat cross section members 10B. The method of using this U-shaped lace is as described above.

As shown in FIG. 3, the other embodiment of the U-shaped lace has an elastic body 12C with a stop (enlargement) 14 on one end.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the other end of the body 12C has a toggle stop. The round cross section of the body 12C that is shown may be varied, including flat. The toggle stop 16 can pivot from a position parallel to the body 12C for passing through an eyelet (not shown) of a shoe or garment as shown in FIG. 4 to a position transverse to the body 12C so as not to pass through the eyelet. The fixation of the end of the body 12C in the toggle stop 16 is shown by dashed lines. The toggle stop 16 may be made of stainless steel or other metal or plastic, for example.

The method of using this embodiment passes the toggle end through one eyelet of a shoe or garment inside to outside and through another eyelet outside to inside while the toggle stop is in the body-parallel position shown in FIG. 4. The toggle stop is then moved to the transverse position shown in FIG. 5 to hold the toggle stop 16 and one end of the body 12C inside the other eyelet while the stop 14 holds the other end of the body 12C inside the one eyelet. The elasticity of the body 12C may then pull the eyelets together when the eyelets are on opposite sides of a portion of the shoe or garment.

However, it will be appreciated that either embodiment can also be used with eyelets on the same side of the shoe or garment. In this case, the U-shaped lace forms a U-shape between the eyelets that could engage a hook to hang the shoe or garment, a hook on an opposite side of the shoe or garment from the U-lace-engaged eyelets or another such U-shaped lace that is additionally threaded through the U-shape before having its toggle stop inserted outside to inside through an eyelet to interlace the U-shaped laces like chain links. A similar chain-link arrangement of U-shaped laces of the cored embodiment is also contemplated.

The invention in one embodiment thus provides modular lacing system designed for the footwear industry.

The product comprises individual—discrete—segments of an elasticized tubular lace which has the ability to be locked into standard eyelets providing a laced look without having to actually lace the shoe in a traditional manner.

One benefit of the product from a fashion perspective is that each segment of lacing on the shoe can be a different color or pattern offering consumers the ability to customize their footwear.

The stretch also allows footwear to be put on and taken off without having to unlace or adjust the laces.

The product may be made up of 3 primary components:

1) Tubular elasticized lacing—this may be made to specification (weight width, elasticity, color, etc).

2) Inner spine—This component is what allows the lace segments to be “locked” into the eyelet. This piece fits inside the tube of the elasticized lace and is not visible from the outside. On a finished segment this piece is what forms the lace into the “C” shape that forms the hook. In order for the lace segment to “lock” into the eyelet, the flat upper part of the hook ends up on the outside of the eyelet; the curve meets the eyelet and the flat lower part of the hook lies inside the shoe under the eyelet.

3) In a preferred embodiment, this piece is joined to the end of the hook on the outside of the lace to make it easy to thread the U-Lace hook through and under the eyelet to lock the product in place.

A consumer lacing a pair of footwear with U-Lace would simply decide what look and color scheme he wanted for his or her shoes and take a segment of U-Lace and thread one end through an eyelet of the shoe; then slightly stretch it to the other eyelet and lock the end piece of the segment into that eyelet. This process is repeated until the shoe is fully laced. As discussed above, a lace or laces may be threaded through a badge or badges further to customize a shoe according to a user's preference and to provide a customized display. The badge or badges may also be used with regular (non U-shape) laces to provide a customized display.

Since the fabric/lace forming the U-shape product is threaded through and under the eyelet the appearance of the shoe is that the product is actually laced and not just lace segments. 

1. A display comprising: (a) an article having a shape of only an upper portion of a shoe, the article comprising a plurality of pairs of opposing eyelets, including a first pair of opposing eyelets and a second pair of opposing eyelets disposed beneath the first pair of opposing eyelets; (b) a plurality of laces that are threaded through respective eyelets of the first and second pairs of opposing eyelets and fixed at insides of the eyelets such that each of the laces forms a U-shape.
 2. The display of claim 1, wherein each of said plurality of laces comprises (i) an elongated malleable core member and (ii) a sleeve about and along the core member.
 3. The display of claim 1, wherein each of said laces comprises (i) an elastic body; and (ii) one of a stop or openable stop on one end of the body; and (iii) an openable stop on an opposite end of the body.
 4. The display of claim 1, wherein the article comprises at least a third pair of opposing eyelets disposed above the first pair of opposing eyelets.
 5. The display of claim 4, wherein the third pair of opposing eyelets does not comprise a lace threaded therethrough.
 6. A kit comprising: (a) an article comprising a plurality of pairs of opposing eyelets, including a first pair of opposing eyelets near a top of the article and a second pair of opposing eyelets disposed beneath the first pair of opposing eyelets; (b) a first lace that is threadable through respective eyelets of the second pair of opposing eyelets and fixable at insides of the eyelets to form a U-shape, said lace comprising (i) an elongated malleable core member and (ii) a sleeve about and along the core member; and (c) a second lace that is threadable through respective eyelets of the first pair of opposing eyelets and formable into the shape of a bow.
 7. The kit according to claim 6, wherein the core member is dimensioned relative to an inside dimension of the sleeve effectively to shape a cross section of the sleeve correspondingly to a cross section of the core member.
 8. The kit according to claim 7, further comprising a badge comprising at least one alphanumeric character, wherein the first lace is threadable through the badge such that the badge is fixedly displayed when the first lace is fixed at the insides of the eyelets to form the U-shape.
 9. The kit according to claim 6, wherein the article comprises at least a third pair of opposing eyelets and a plurality of said first laces.
 10. The kit according to claim 9, wherein the article is a shoe.
 11. The kit according to claim 6, wherein each of said first and second laces is a different color.
 12. A kit comprising: (a) an article comprising a plurality of pairs of opposing eyelets, including a first pair of opposing eyelets near a top of the article and a second pair of opposing eyelets disposed beneath the first pair of opposing eyelets; (b) a first lace that is threadable through respective eyelets of the second pair of opposing eyelets and fixable at insides of the eyelets to form a U-shape, said lace comprising (i) an elastic body; and (ii) one of a stop or openable stop on one end of the body; and (iii) an openable stop on an opposite end of the body; and (c) a second lace that is threadable through respective eyelets of the first pair of opposing eyelets and formable into the shape of a bow.
 13. The kit according to claim 12, wherein the openable stop is a toggle stop.
 14. The kit according to claim 12, further comprising a badge comprising at least one alphanumeric character, wherein the first lace is threadable through the badge such that the badge is fixedly displayed when the first lace is fixed at the insides of the eyelets to form the U-shape.
 15. The kit according to claim 12, wherein the article comprises at least a third pair of opposing eyelets and a plurality of said first laces.
 16. The kit according to claim 12, wherein the article is a shoe.
 17. The kit according to claim 12, wherein each of said plurality of first laces is of a different color.
 18. The display according to claim 1, comprising a badge which comprises at least one alphanumeric character, wherein the first lace is threaded through the badge such that the badge is fixedly displayed in the display.
 19. The display according to claim 1, comprising a plurality of badges each of which comprises an alphanumeric character, wherein the plurality of laces are threaded through respective of the plurality of badges such that the badges are fixedly displayed in the display. 